The Theory of Sound

The classic textbook on acoustic theory by John Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh (1842–1919), first published between 1877 and 1878.

John William Strutt (Author)

9781108032216, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 June 2011

318 pages, 11 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.8 cm, 0.4 kg

John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh (1842–1919), was an English physicist best known as the co-discoverer of the element argon, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904. Rayleigh graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1865 and after conducting private research was appointed Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics in 1879, a post which he held until 1884. These highly influential volumes, first published between 1877 and 1878, contain Rayleigh's classic account of acoustic theory. Bringing together contemporary research and his own experiments, Rayleigh clearly describes the origins and transmission of sound waves through different media. This textbook was considered the standard work on the subject for many years and provided the foundations of modern acoustic theory. Volume 2 discusses theories of aerial vibrations, with discussions of experimental procedures of aerial vibrations in tubes and rectangular chambers, and the theory of resonators.

11. Aerial vibrations
12. Vibrations in tubes
13. Aerial vibrations in a rectangular chamber
14. Arbitrary initial disturbance in an unlimited atmosphere
15. Secondary waves due to a variation in the medium
16. Theory of resonators
17. Applications of Laplace's functions to acoustical problems
18. Problem of a spherical layer of air
19. Fluid friction
Appendix.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX]